Cape Cod Bay Challenge #2: 2 months and counting....then I can get back into the shop some.

Hello old friends. Sorry I haven’t been very active but I’ve been looking over your shoulders. Amazing what everyone is doing. I have to say I think LJ has advanced the skills of so many people. Funny how wanting to share things with friends can get you to push a little harder or try something you might otherwise never attempt.

My self imposed exile from the shop will be ending soon. My crazy training schedule for this event will be over and I’m itching to smell sawdust again. Hope you can stand it when I get start yakking again more often.

The reason I’m posting this is to ask for the generosity of my fellow LJ’s. Some of you expressed interest in donating to the cause when the time came. Well this thing is for real. We are deep in the planning. If you are interested in the ocean, the environment, and care to help you can read more about what I’m planning and will find the donation form here.

Just in case you’re wondering…this isn’t a local event benefiting just a local area. Last year the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup was 378,000 volunteers from 76 countries and over 6,000,000 pounds of trash was collected.

Even if you can’t donate I’d like you to pass along this story to anyone that you might know that is struggling with health issues. Especially if they are like mine, balance related. Less than a year ago I was wondering where the downward spiral would end. The doctor’s had done about as much as they could…...then I got lucky. You can read some of the details here.http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org/Standup/standup.html .

The moral of the story is don’t give up…don’t take the easy route. I almost had when a strange twist changed everything. Try something different, push yourself harder than you thought possible. Here I am 9 months later with my head feeling almost normal and the rest of my body in better shape than when I was 30. Not because of anything the doctor’s recommended, just my brother thinking it might help.

Anyway, sorry for the rare post asking for donations. It is for a great cause. If any of you are interested in standup paddle surfing and live in the area let me know. We can get together and you can give it a try. If I can do it anyone can. If you’re interested and don’t live in the area take a look at the links listed on the page link above. Lots of great info available. And for anyone on the north shore of Boston, listen to WBOQ 104.9 FM on June 21st. We just taped a show for their “North Shore Now” radio program about the event.

Bob,I can definetly relate to what you have been through. I am not supposed to be alive according to my doctors. In 2003 I was diagnosed with stage III-B Colon Cancer, I beat it, with out of protocol treatments of Chemo. and heavy dose radiation. The cancer returned a month after I was told I was cancer free. They operated to remove the cancer and luckly they were able to remove it all. BUT during the surgery, I was infected with MRSA, which turned into the “Fleash Eating Bacteria” it took another 28 trips to the operating room and over 3 months in ICU, in total I was in the hospital just over 4 months. To this day the doctors still can’t explain why I am still alive. The hardest part of my experience started once I was releaded from the hospital and went home.The healing of my wounds and rehab was long and slow. There were times that I thought it would never end. But somehow I found the strenght to keep going. It took three years but I am now living a good life. At age 48 I changed careers and returned to school to learn how to take my hobby and passion for working with wood to a level that I can make a living at it.Good luck with your plans for the futute.

Great to hear from you Bob. I sincerely hope your little friend’s return is just a false alarm of some sort. KT and I are currently helping take care of one of our close friends who has been ravaged by cancer but refuses to give up. I’m glad you are feeling fit and trim and get to experience the freedom you deserve! Thanks for the post and we’ll see what we can do to help out.

Ed…sounds like you’ve had a much rougher road than I. Glad to see you came through it so well.

Jeff…without knowing the details of your friends cancer tell him to keep fighting. My brother’s best friend was given 6 months to live…an inoperable brain tumor. He went to 7 different doctor’s before he found one who felt he could do something. That was 2 years ago and he is living a normal life today…free of cancer.

I’ll definitely keep in touch. Right now I’m spending 20-30 hrs/week on the water training, the rest goes to work, family and all the planning of the event. Once the event is done my water time will cut back to 10 hrs or so and I’ll start spending some time in the shop and have some things to chat about again. My plan is to make that bench the 1st order of business.